The Elizabethan age was a tumultuous time, when long-cherished certainties were crumbling and life was exhilaratingly uncertain. Shakespeare's Restless World uncovers the extraordinary stories behind twenty objects from the period to re-create an age at once distant and yet surprisingly familiar. From knife crime to belief in witches, religious battles to the horizons of the New World, Neil MacGregor brings the past to life in a fresh, unexpected portrait of a dangerous and dynamic era.
'Fascinating ... filled with anecdotes and insights, eerie, funny, poignant and grotesque ... another brilliant vindication of MacGregor's understanding of physical objects to enter deep into our forefathers' mental and spiritual world' Christopher Hart, Sunday Times
'Enjoyable and intriguing, an absorbing evocation ... he draws us into the minds of the Elizabethan and Jacobean audience. Next time you see one of the plays reading this book will make those first audiences seem real to you' Peter Lewis, Daily Mail
'How gripping are these tales from a lost world. And what a world Shakespeare's was - adventurous, melancholy, rich and plagued by beggary, courteous and quarrelsome, sceptical and credulous' Daily Telegraph
'Elegant, informative ... provides stimulating insights' Anne Somerset, Spectator
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780718195700
Number of pages: 240
Weight: 249 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 18 mm
This is a book that gives you a proper reading experience. Beautifully produced it’s a delight to hold, the insightful and informative text entertains, educates and surprises whilst the accompanying illustrations just... More
The book is a beautifully produced complement to the BBC radio series of the same name in which Neil MacGregor demonstrates his belief that the way to understand Shakespeare’s contemporaries is to examine objects... More
Building on the success of his 'History of the World in 100 Objects', Neil MacGregor delivers a new treat, telling some of the stories behind twenty objects that offer insights into aspects of... More
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